Westerbeke gen 7.0 cranks no start

Feet From Satisfied

New Member
Jun 5, 2008
29
Sayville NY
Boat Info
2001 Sun Dancer 380
180 triumph
Engines
8.1 Horizon
First time posting so I hope I do this right...

My westerbeke cranks all day no fire.. I did all the basic tune up stuff, oil, filter, plugs, wires cap, rotor & impeller in the fall, ran It to winterize.... no problems. Now as you searay guys know, I used to get an alarm when you toggle the gen battery on, with the run rocker switch in the on position... Im not getting that alarm anymore.... from the start switches on the unit, I hear the solenoid and see the choke when you toggle the (pre heat) rocker and it will crank all day... So im assuming im not getting power to the circut board from the main panel.
Also noticed nothing on the Searay system monitor either.. I didnt have any time to check much, just looking to see if anyone else had this problem. Thanks in advance for any help...

Its on a 2001 380 Sun Dancer
 
Careful cranking the generator for very long without it starting with the seacock open.
The water-lift muffler needs a running engine to expel water out the exhaust.
Attempting to start (cranking) will back-flood the motor with sea water, causing hydro lock and ruining your engine.
 
Unfortunately, you need to check for spark at the plugs and fuel flow. It could be something as simple as bad fuel in the fuel bowl. Get a $10 spark tester and see if the plugs are firing. If they are then it is most likely a fuel problem. If it starts on a shot of carb cleaner, then you know to which parts to look at.

Air O'Nautical is correct. Prolonged cranking can flood the engine with water since it was designed to use exhaust pressure to push the water out.

I did chase one problem that turned out to be a short in the inside Run Switch. It was shorted to Stop which prevented the generator from starting inside (it would crank) or at the generator. If your generator has a plug for the inside harness....you can disconnect it and see if you can start it at the generator.
 
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Unfortunately, you need to check for spark at the plugs and fuel flow. It could be something as simple as bad fuel in the fuel bowl. Get a $10 spark tester and see if the plugs are firing. If they are then it is most likely a fuel problem. If it starts on a shot of carb cleaner, then you know to which parts to look at.

Air O'Nautical is correct. Prolonged cranking can flood the engine with water since it was designed to use exhaust pressure to push the water out.

I did chase one problem that turned out to be a short in the inside Run Switch. It was shorted to Stop which prevented the generator from starting inside (it would crank) or at the generator. If your generator has a plug for the inside harness....you can disconnect it and see if you can start it at the generator.

That would make sense..Are you talking about the run switch on the genset or the remote switch down in the cabin? I also looked at the schematic and there's a K2 relay that would cause a no start too.. also agree with you on the suck bang blow checks first...

Separate note.. was able to reset the breaker on the systems monitor and the LCD is working with a No Data link flashing.. pulled the few connections i could get to.. Now does anyone know where the interface module on the 38 is? looked under the dash and the coax seems to disappear towards the cabin or engine room
 
Gen turned out to be vapor locked... I pulled the filter re filled it with gas then dribbled gas into the carb to keep it running long enough to run on its own..Systems moniter came back to life after the breaker re-set... go figure
 

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